


Welcome Home

by AnselaJonla



Series: Shelter [2]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:48:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23334889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnselaJonla/pseuds/AnselaJonla
Summary: After a storm batters Abel, scattering Runners in the field to whatever safety they can find, Sam realises that three of his Runners are completely unaccounted for. Naturally he worries.
Series: Shelter [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678132
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Welcome Home

Sam grumbled and muttered into his mic. He was  _ certain _ that the problem didn’t lie with his equipment, and he really did trust Janine when she said that the radio tower should be working again, so therefore the communications problem  _ must _ be at New Canton’s end. He could contact Brunswick easily enough after all. He’d already informed them that their two Runners who’d ridden out the storm in Abel were safe.

That storm had been something. Blue skies one minutes and then  _ boom _ , howling gales and driving rain battered everything. It had come on so suddenly that no one had had chance to recall their Runners from the field, and they’d fled to the nearest safe place they could find. In addition to the pair from Brunswick, Abel had also taken in just short of a dozen from New Canton who’d decided not to try and run the extra distance to get home.

_ “-ship, do you read me? Come in, Abel Township,” _ crackled the speakers.

Sam started in his chair, and reached for his transmit button.

“Sam here. Is that you, Nadia?”

_ “You’re  _ supposed _ to say ‘Abel Township receiving’,” _ came the reply. Sam just about melted into his chair at the sound. Nadia wasn’t his favourite person, not after the stunt she pulled with Five, but he  _ had _ been starting to get worried about the continuing radio silence.  _ “That was some storm, wasn’t it?” _

“Yeah, there was no warning at all. I couldn’t even get my Runners in safely. Especially not after the comms tower got hit by about three quarters of a tree.”

_ “We took some damage as well. It’s taken us some time to fix it. Speaking of Runners…” _ Sam could hear the hopeful tone in her voice. It matched how he felt.

“We have eleven of yours here. You can have ten of them back whenever you want.”

_ “I have twelve unaccounted for. And why can I only have ten Runners back? You’re not poaching our people are you?” _

“No, nothing of the sort. Runner 57 had a broken ankle on arrival, and Maxine isn’t going to let him return to New Canton on foot until it heals. And Runner 61… he didn’t make it to Abel.”

_ “Oh. I see.” _ Sam heard Nadia scribbling something, probably the notes she kept during her shifts.  _ “You can have your Runner Three back whenever you want. Please, take him. And I suppose you’ll want Seven back as well.” _

So Simon was being his usual irrepressible self up at New Canton then, and annoying Nadia in the process by the sounds of it. Probably purposely. He’d been pretty incensed by Nadia’s attempt at murdering Five. But those two weren’t the only Runners that Sam had out.

“Are they… is it only Three and Seven up at New Canton?”

_ “Yes. Did you have anyone else out?” _

Sam could hear the disbelief in Nadia’s voice. Yeah, yeah, him having more than one mission out at a time wasn’t exactly  _ common _ , but it’s not like he actually had anything to do really on the other one. They were beyond his camera range, so he was just occasionally asking if they were okay… and getting snippy remarks back from Eight or worried babble from Four.

Nothing from Five, at least not directly.  _ That _ headset still wasn’t transmitting consistently, despite Janine’s best efforts at fixing it, so Sam only got snatches of Five’s delightful brand of sarcasm and black humour. As Five rarely ran solo, Janine had eventually declared that it wasn’t really a priority and to  _ stop bothering her about it _ .

Sam just liked to be able to communicate with his Runners, damnit.

_ “Sam? Who else hasn’t returned?” _ Nadia sounded concerned.  _ “It’s Five, isn’t it?” _

Why did she have to be so bloody observant? Sam keyed his mic again. “Yeah, along with Eight and Four. They were doing some long range recon, beyond camera range. I lost contact with them before the tree hit the tower.”

_ “I’m sure they’re absolutely fine. They’re all tough and resourceful. They probably found somewhere to shelter and relax while the storm blew itself out.” _

Sam admitted that that sounded likely, especially with Eight on the team. She was good at things like that. Still… “Then why aren’t they back yet? The storm was over  _ ages _ ago. They’ve had more than enough time to come home.”

_ “I’m sure there’s a reason for it. If you send me the details of where they were, I’ll keep an eye on my cameras in that direction, and tell any Runners in that area to keep a lookout.” _

“Thanks Nadia. Erm, does Seven have his headset with him?”

_ “Yes. He collected it from the charging station earlier. Said he wanted to be ready to go whenever communications were restored.” _

“That sounds like Seven. Could you ask him if he’s okay with Runner Six taking Bonnie out when he goes to check the pasture fences?” He probably wouldn’t mind, but it was just good manners to ask, and Six had refused to take her out with permission.

_ “I’m going to assume that Bonnie is a dog rather than a child,” _ Nadia quipped. Silence fell for a short while, and Sam fidgeted with a few papers that he’d left on his desk.  _ “He says that’s fine, and that if he was there he’d have insisted on it anyway. Him and Three are heading to the gates now by the way, they’ll be on their way to you soon.” _

“Thanks Nadia. Now, about your Runners…”

\----

“ _ SAM!” _ Nadia’s yell jerked Sam’s attention back to his equipment. He hadn’t been asleep, honest. Just resting his eyes. He jammed his headset back on… and then took it back off and turned it round so it was on the right way round.

“What? I was… busy.”

_ “Yeah, sleeping. I could practically hear you snoring from here.” _

“I wasn’t… what do you want, Nadia?”

_ “We’ve found them.” _

Nadia didn’t _need_ to explain who she meant. It had been three days since the storm blew itself out, and there was only one team of Runners unaccounted for still. Sam had been fretting over their continued disappearance. He’d barely left the comms shack since realising that they hadn’t made it to any of Abel’s allies during the bad weather, listening for any communication from the missing trio.

“Where? Are they okay?”

_ “Do you know that big park, with the river running through it? I think it’s called…” _ Sam heard the map rustling as Nadia tried to find the right location, but he knew what she meant.

“It’s called the Washlands. It was built on a flood plain, so all the park facilities were designed to survive being flooded during heavy rains. There’s a causeway, but…”

_ “We needed the materials, and so we tore a lot of it up.” _

“We took some of it as well. I’m guessing they’re in that area.”

_ “Yeah, a couple of my Runners spotted them. Well, spotted your Runner Eight. They’re stuck on the other side of the river. There’s a house over there. My Runners were, apparently, keeping it maintained as an emergency shelter. I wasn’t told about this.” _

“I know  _ exactly _ where you mean!” Sam had good memories of that little farmhouse. “It used to be a little working farm museum thing. They grew vegetables there and had a little petting zoo, and they sold the vegetables and milk and eggs too. It  _ would _ be a good shelter for a few nights.”

_ “Apparently so. My Runners had a short conversation with Eight over the river, at least until some zombies were attracted by the shouting. Their comms are dead. Eight and Four ran out of power, and Five’s headset took some water damage.” _

“Damn. I was hoping to at least be able to talk to them.”

_ “Yeah, I’ve heard how you keep your Runners’ spirits up when they’re trapped away from Abel.” _

“Hey, it works.”

_ “Not saying it doesn’t. Your headsets are compatible with solar chargers, aren’t they?” _

“Erm…” Sam rifled through his desk, looking for the equipment list from the scouting mission. “Eight’s definitely is, and Four’s should be. That’s assuming they took their usual headsets. Five’s is too, but if it’s been fried then that’s a moot point. Ah, yeah, they _ are  _ compatible with solar chargers, but they were running light and only took what was absolutely  _ necessary _ . Eight decided that charging equipment wasn’t necessary.”

_ “That is, in hindsight, a rather stupid idea.” _

“Yeah, I’m going to insist on it being taken on all missions from now on.” Sam frowned and poked at his mental map of Washlands park. “We left  _ some _ of the causeway intact…”

_ “Yeah, directly over the river. Even if they could climb up onto it, it’s surrounded by water right now.” _

“Figures. Oh,  _ oh _ … are your Runners still in the area?”

_ “Mostly. They can double back once they’ve ditched the horde that’s trailing after them.” _

“Have them go upstream from the remains of the causeway. There was a boating club based on the river at Washlands. Mostly canoes, but they had some bigger boats too. If there’s any left…”

_ “Then my Runners can get one over the river and pick yours up. That’s a brilliant idea Sam.” _

“Don’t congratulate me until it  _ works _ , Nadia. I’m out of ideas here.”

_ “Even if we have to use canoes, we’ll get your Runners back. I promise.” _ Nadia sounded so earnest that Sam almost believed her. Maybe 90%. He wasn’t ready to put  _ all _ his trust in her again, not yet.

\----

Sam tapped his fingers on the desk impatiently. He’d got bored of spinning in his chair several minutes ago. Before that he’d been trying to do handstands in the small comms shack.

Nadia had cut him off, saying she needed to concentrate on getting her Runners clear of the pursuing horde before she could enact their plan. She had  _ literally _ hung up on him. It was, in Sam’s opinion, rather rude of her. She could have at least let him listen in.

That was nearly an hour ago, and he was  _ bored _ . He didn’t want to leave comms, just in case. Maxine had tried to convince him to go to the mess tent, but he’d refused. Nadia could come back online at any time.

Janine had ordered him to leave, but he’d shut the door on her. And jammed the spare chair under the handle. And tied the handle to the desk just in case. He would leave once he knew his Runners were safe. After he’d heard their voices again for himself.

_ “Hey, Sam? You still there?” _ Nadia’s voice was clear. Janine hadn’t carried out her threat to disconnect the thingie from the whatsit then.

“Yep. Still here, until my Runners are safe.”

_ “They’re on the river now. Apparently they want a shower and some hot food.” _

“Have they got headsets on?”

_ “My Runners stashed their packs in the boathouse to reduce the weight in the boats. The spare headsets are in there. You’ll be able to hear them once they’ve collected them.” _

“So in a few minutes then?” Sam couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice.

_ “A bit longer. The current is pretty strong. They were taken about a kilometre downstream on the first crossing, and it’s looking like they’ll go even further on the return.” _ Nadia sounded a bit miffed by the prospect, as if it was a personal affront that the water had changed her Runners’ route.

“Oh. Well… thanks for getting my Runners back, Nadia.”

_ “I wasn’t going to leave them stranded, Sam.”  _ Nadia sighed.  _ “I know you don’t trust me, not completely, and that’s all my own fault, but I’m not going to repeat the same mistake twice.” _

Sam hmmphed. Nadia could make all the promises she wanted, but what she’d done was unforgivable. At least to him.

_ “They’re almost at the edge. They’ll… oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no… I’ll guide your Runners in myself, Sam! That horde has come back, with some friends.” _

Sam’s head thumped onto the desk as the connection to New Canton was cut again. Damnit. Hopefully Eight, Four, and Five were fresh enough to run from a horde. He didn’t want to lose them when they were so close to coming home.

\----

_ “Almost there Sam!” _

“I  _ have _ been following them since they entered my camera coverage, Nadia.” Okay, it was a bit stalkerish, but he was worried damnit.

_ “I had a feeling you were. Sorry about the delay, that horde didn’t want to quit.” _

“It hasn’t completely. It’s going to reach Abel after nightfall if it hasn’t changed direction.”

_ “Damnit. Sorry, Sam. I thought it had lost the trail.” _

“It can’t be helped. They’re too persistent sometimes. As long as everyone is inside the walls, it’ll be fine.”

_ “They’ll be in long before that. Your sharpshooters should be able to see them now.” _

“I already warned them that Runners were incoming… at some point. And none of them look  _ too _ bad, so there shouldn’t be any mistakes.”

_ “Oh?” _ Nadia sounded curious.

“Let’s just say that Three should not be allowed to stand watch. Ever. He has  _ no _ skill at threat assessment.”

_ “I do not know  _ how _ you put up with him.” _

“He’s an acquired ta- oh, is Four okay? I can see that Five and Eight are helping her up…”

_ “One second.” _ Sam nibbled on his lip as he waited for the answer.  _ “The ground is bad there because of the rain. She slipped, and her ankle is feeling a bit tender. She can make it to Abel though.” _

“I’ll warn Maxine.” Sam pushed some papers away, and unmuted Maxine’s headset. He wouldn’t have muted it in the first place if she hadn’t started  _ nagging _ about sleep, and food, and rest...things that weren’t all that important when Runners were missing. After relaying the information he muted it again.

Five minutes later, when the trio stumbled into sight of the gates, Sam pressed the button to raise them, and then pulled the chair away from the door and bolted to meet the incoming Runners.

They didn’t look  _ too _ bad, in all consideration. Their clothes were mud-streaked, and they looked absolutely and completely knackered, but they didn’t look overly tired or starved, or anything else that Sam had feared. And apart from the ankle that even Sam could see was swollen, they looked completely uninjured.

“Welcome home, Runners.”


End file.
